West Side Story
The OPRL and Lucie Leguay embark on a journey to 20th-century America and explore some of its core repertoire. The nine Symphonic Dances come from Bernstein's masterpiece West Side Story, arranged into an orchestral suite by the composer in 1960. Commissioned by his teacher, Nadia Boulanger, Aaron Coplands’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra (1924), blends modernism, jazz influences and virtuosity, capturing the bold energy of the United States in the 1920s. Florence Price's works are enjoying a well-deserved and exciting popularity at the moment. Premiered in Chicago in 1939 and based on the melody of a popular negro spiritual, her vibrant Concert Overture No. 1 embodies all the richness of her Afro-American roots.
Programme
PRICE, Concert Overture No. 1
BERNSTEIN, West Side Story, Symphonic dances
COPLAND, Symphony for Organ and Orchestra
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